Jay Silverheels - Biography - IMDb Jay Silverheels Jump to: Overview (4) | Mini Bio (2) | Spouse (2) | Trivia (13) | Personal Quotes (2) Overview (4) 6' (1.83 m) Mini Bio (2) Jay Silverheels was born on Canada's Six Nation's Reserve and was one of 10 children. He was a star lacrosse player and a boxer before he entered films as a stuntman in 1938. He worked in a number of films through the 1940s before gaining notice as the Osceola brother in a Humphrey Bogart film Key Largo (1948). Most of Silverheels' roles consisted of bit parts as an Indian character. In 1949, he worked in the movie The Cowboy and the Indians (1949) with another "B movie" actor Clayton Moore . Later that year, Silverheels was hired to play the faithful Indian companion, Tonto, in the TV series The Lone Ranger (1949) series, which brought him the fame that his motion picture career never did.

Silverheels recreated the role of Tonto in two big-screen color movies with Moore, The Lone Ranger (1956) and The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold (1958). After the TV series ended in 1957, Silverheels could not escape the typecasting of Tonto. He would continue to appear in an occasional film and television show but became a spokesperson to improve the portrayal of Indians in the media. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Tony Fontana <tony.fontana@spacebbs.com> Familiar Canadian Indian actor who shot to fame as Tonto, the faithful Indian companion of the masked man on the US television series The Lone Ranger (1949). A member of the Mohawk tribe of Canada's Six Nations Reserve, Silverheels excelled at wrestling, horse racing, football, boxing, and hockey, and became a renowned lacrosse player. With the help of actor Joe E. Brown ,Silverheels obtained work as a stuntman and extra in Hollywood films. Following military service in World War II, Silverheels returned to film and landed small, often stereotypical roles as Indian warriors in Westerns.

John Huston cast him as one of the fugitive Osceola brothers in Key Largo (1948), and Silverheels followed with the two roles that would define his career, Tonto and the Apache leader Geronimo, whom he would play several times beginning with the Western classic Broken Arrow (1950). Silverheels' enormous fame as Tonto overshadowed everything else, although it did not prevent him from playing other prominent roles. Even after completing The Lone Ranger (1949)series, Silverheels continued to reprise Tonto for commercials, comic guest spots, and spoofs. Silverheels became an outspoken activist for Indian rights and a respected teacher within the Indian acting community. He appeared on talk and variety shows performing his own poetry. In later years, he began a second career as a harness racer. His health failed in the 1970s, and he died of a stroke in 1980, a beloved figure to the Baby Boom generation America. His son, Jay Silverheels Jr. has acted in television as well.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net> Spouse (2) (1946 - 5 March 1980) (his death) (4 children) Bobbie (? - 1943) (divorced) (1 child) Trivia (13) On The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962), Silverheels told Johnny Carson that he had married his Italian wife to "get back at Christopher Columbus". They called their children "Indalions". U.S. government records give Silverheels' birthdate as 26 June 1912, though virtually all cinema reference works disagree, giving instead the 1919 date listed here. Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1993. Was an avid horse-racer when not acting. When asked if he ever thought about running Silver or Scout (who portrayed the steeds of the Lone Ranger and Tonto, respectively) in a race, Silverheels laughed: "Heck, *I* can beat Scout." Father of Jay Silverheels Jr.

Was a full-blooded Mohawk Indian, one of 11 children of A.G.E. Smith, who had served as a decorated officer in the Canadian forces in WWI. Of the nearly 200 TV and film appearances Silverheels made with Clayton Moore , the actors co-starred in just 4 features where they did NOT play Tonto and The Lone Ranger: Perils of Nyoka (1942), The Cowboy and the Indians (1949), Cyclone Fury (1951) and The Black Dakotas (1954). Resided in Canoga Park, CA, and used to take walks around his neighborhood. Daughter attended and graduated from Canoga Park High School. Adopted the nickname 'Silverheels" during a very brief boxing career, which saw him compete as a middleweight in a Golden Gloves bout in New York City's Madison Square Garden. Was said to have \"despised" his show-business portrayal of an Indian. Reportedly beat out 35 other actors to win the Tonto role in the initial radio version of "The Lone Ranger", which he had been invited to audition for based on his appearance in Key Largo (1948).

While filming The Lone Ranger (1949) in 1955, he suffered a heart attack. He didn't appear on the show for eight weeks while he recuperated. Stuntman Chuck Courtney , as the Lone Ranger's nephew Dan Reid, replaced him until he was well enough to return;. Suffered a stroke in 1976. Personal Quotes (2) [re his signature character] He's stupid. The Lone Ranger treats him like some kind of servant, and this seems to suit Tonto fine. [re his lacrosse days] I was so scared, I was weak. I'd walk out on the floor shaking, thinking I can't do it, I can't, I can't. Then the whistle would blow, and I'd play in a fury. Happened every time. See also Jay Silverheels | Lone Ranger Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Edit Born Harold J. Smith on the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation, near Brantford, Ontario, Canada, Silverheels excelled in athletics and lacrosse as a boy before leaving home to travel around North America, competing in boxing and wrestling tournaments.

In the 1930s he played indoor lacrosse under the name of Harry Smith with the Rochester, NY "Iroquois" of the North American Amateur Lacrosse Association. He lived for a time in Buffalo, New York. In 1938 Silverheels placed second in the middleweight section of the Golden Gloves tournament. Film career Edit Silverheels began working in motion pictures in 1937. During the early years of his screen career, he was billed variously as Harold Smith or Harry Smith, and appeared in low-budget features, westerns, and serials.

From the late 1940s he played in more prestigious pictures, including Captain from Castille starring Tyrone Power, Key Largo with Humphrey Bogart, (1948), Broken Arrow (1950) with James Stewart, War Arrow (1953) with Maureen O'Hara, Jeff Chandler and Noah Beery, Jr., Drums Across the River (1954), Walk the Proud Land (1956) with Audie Murphy and Anne Bancroft, Alias Jesse James (1959) with Bob Hope, and Indian Paint (1964) with Johnny Crawford. He made a brief appearance in True Grit (1969), as a condemned criminal about to be executed. He played a substantial role as John Crow in Santee (1973) starring Glenn Ford. TV career Silverheels achieved his greatest fame as the Lone Ranger's friend Tonto . In addition to starring in the Lone Ranger television series from 1949 to 1957, Silverheels appeared in the films The Lone Ranger (1956) and The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold (1958).

Following the end of the Lone Ranger television series, Silverheels found himself typecast as Tonto and had trouble finding further acting work. Silverheels was also hindered by a changing attitude, as some felt that the Tonto character was equivalent to a Native American Uncle Tom. Subsequently, Silverheels was forced to work as a salesman to supplement his acting income. He also began to concentrate on writing poetry influenced by his youth on the Six Nations Indian Reserve and appeared on television reciting his poetry. In 1966, he guest-starred as John Tallgrass in the short-lived ABC comedy/western series The Rounders, with Ron Hayes, Patrick Wayne, and Chill Wills. Despite the typecasting, Silverheels often poked fun at his character in later years. In 1969, he appeared as Tonto in a comedy sketch on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, seeking new employment away from the Lone Ranger. The sketch was featured on the 1973 record album Here's Johnny: Magic Moments From The Tonight Show.

Among his later appearances were an episode of The Brady Bunch, as a Native chief who befriends the Bradys in the Grand Canyon, and an episode of the short-lived Dusty's Trail, starring Bob Denver of Gilligan's Island fame. During the "Brady Bunch" Grand Canyon episodes, the character Alice makes a tongue-in-cheek remark about meeting "Tonto" in the episode before the character meets Silverheels' character. In the early 1960s, Silverheels helped to establish the Indian Actors Workshop in Echo Park, California as a place where Native American actors could develop their acting skills. The workshop is still active. Personal life Edit Silverheels raised, bred and raced horses in his spare time. Once, when asked about possibly running Tonto's famous Pinto horse Scout in a race, Jay laughed off the idea: "Heck, I can outrun Scout!" Married in 1945, Silverheels was the father of two boys and a girl. He died of a stroke in Calabasas, California and was cremated at Chapel of the Pines Crematory. His ashes were returned home to Six Nations Indian Reserve.

Legacy Edit In 1993, Silverheels was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He was named to the Western New York Entertainment Hall of Fame and his portrait hangs in Buffalo, New York's Shea's Buffalo Theatre. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6538 Hollywood Boulevard. References Aisha Harris Aisha Harris is a Slate culture writer and host of the Slate podcast Represent. But what, exactly, does kemosabe mean? And does the word have its origins in any indigenous language? Or is it purely a white-American butchering of Native American culture? Advertisement It’s complicated. The phrase has stumped scholars and Lone Ranger fans alike for years, and there appears to be no conclusive evidence as to its true definition or its roots. (Striker himself does not seem to have offered an explanation on the record during his lifetime.) It doesn’t help that in the original series, Tonto’s own backstory was left deliberately mysterious, and throughout the franchise, his tribal identification is mostly ambiguous.

(On the radio series, he was reportedly described as a Potawatomi Indian , though that tribe did not live in the southwest, where the show is set.) Still, there are plenty of theories to go around. The Yale Book of Quotations defines the word as “faithful friend or trusty scout,” and this is the most common interpretation. (In an episode of the TV show, Tonto tells the Lone Ranger that the word “ mean trusty scout .”) A 1939 Saturday Evening Post article claimed that Striker’s letters to his children always opened with the phrase “Ta-i ke-mo sah-bee,” or, “Greetings, trusty scout.”And Striker’s widow told the Hartford Courant in 1977, “I think he interpreted ‘kemo sabe’ to mean ‘good friend’ or ‘good scout.’ ” Where did Striker get this word? It’s not clear. The Yale Book of Quotations cites a boys’ camp in Mullet Lake, Mich., named Ke Mo Sah Bee, and on separate occasions Striker’s son and daughter each suggested this might be where the show got it from.

(Jim Jewell, the original series’ director, is usually credited with finding the word by those who support this hypothesis. Jewell was from Michigan.) But their mother, who admitted that her memory was “very fuzzy” (she was raising four kids while her husband was getting the series under way), said that Striker “may have just coined it from his own head.” Or maybe not. A 1977 Smithsonian Magazine article by Lone Ranger aficionado Martha Kendall—at the time a Ph.D. student in anthropology with a concentration in American Indian languages—found a similarly “friendly” definition in a specific Native American language. Smithsonian curator and linguist Ives Goddard told her he had traced it to J.P. Harrington’s “The Ethnogeography of the Tewa Indians,” from 1916. That article includes a list of Tewa words used to denote other tribes and cultures; the word sabe is defined as “Apaches” and kema is defined as “friend.” Kendall suggests that this list could have been seen by Striker himself or a research assistant.

At the time that the series was first developed, she says, “there was a variable glut of these Smithsonian volumes in used book shops, since they were distributed free to various politicians who clearly had no use for them.” Advertisement There is another theory that gives the word an entirely different meaning. Noting that tonto in Spanish means “stupid” or “crazy,” some people have pointed out that kemosabe sounds a lot like the Spanish phrase quien no sabe, “he who doesn’t understand.” (In Spanish-language versions of The Lone Ranger, Tonto is called Toro , Spanish for bull.) This suggests a whole different dynamic between the two characters. Is the Lone Ranger a racist who calls his partner an idiot? Is Tonto in turn being subversive when he addresses his white companion as an ignoramus? The truth: probably neither. As Chadwick Allen explains in “Hero with Two Faces: The Lone Ranger as Treaty Discourse,” this interpretation has mostly been pushed by American linguists who want to “locate Tonto ‘appropriately’ in the Pueblo southwest,” and there isn’t much evidence for it. But the theory has plenty of proponents regardless.

Native American writer Sherman Alexie, who is of Coeur D’Alene descent, has said that kemosabe means “idiot” in Apache. “ They were calling each other ‘idiot’ all those years ,” he told an interviewer in 1996, a few years after the publication of his story collection The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven . “It’s always going to be an antagonistic relationship between indigenous people and the colonial people,” he added. There’s one other theory of note, though it’s not as well known as the first two. Alan Shaterian of University of California, Berkeley told Kendall that the word could have its roots in the Yavapai language spoken in Arizona. Striker, Shaterian says, could have visited a reservation in the state and asked people there what their word was for “a white person,” or someone who dresses in white, like the Lone Ranger. According to Shaterian, a typical Yavapai speaker would answer with kinmasaba or kinmasabeh.

In the nearly 40 years since Kendall’s piece was published, no one seems to have come any closer to a conclusive account of the phrase’s origins or intended meaning within the Lone Ranger series. Kendall herself decided she preferred “the mystery to certainty,” and perhaps the word is indeed a bit more fun that way. On a 1969 episode of The Johnny Carson Show, Carson did a sketch in which he interviewed Jay Silverheels—who portrayed Tonto on the Lone Ranger TV series—in character, for a new job at NBC. “ I work 30 years as faithful sidekick for kemosabe ,” Silverheels tells Carson in the bit. “Hunt, fish, make food, sew clothes, sweep up, stay awake all night, listen for enemies for kemosabe. Risk life for kemosabe. Thirty lousy years.” When Carson wonders why Tonto’s former employer let him go, the once-faithful sidekick replies, “Him find out what kemosabe mean.” Thanks to Fred Shapiro, editor of The Yale Book of Quotations, and Dave Wilton from the University of Toronto.

Jay Silverheels, Played Tonto in The Lone Ranger - America Comes Alive World War II Welcome to America Comes Alive!, a site I created to share little-known stories of America's past. These stories are about Americans - people just like you - who have made a difference and changed the course of history. Look around the site and find what inspires you. Kate Kelly Jay Silverheels, Played Tonto in The Lone Ranger Jay Silverheels (1912-1980) is best-remembered for his role as Tonto in The Lone Ranger, an ABC television program that ran for 221 episodes (1949-1957). Silverheels was a full-blooded Mohawk Indian born on the Six Nations Indian Reservation in Ontario, Canada. His birth name was Harold Smith, and he was one of 11 children born to George Smith and his wife. His father was Chief of the Six Nations tribe and was also a highly-decorated soldier in the Canadian World War I military forces. Jay Silverheels achieved initial recognition as a gifted athlete in both lacrosse and boxing. Silverheels Had Early Career in Sports The lacrosse game at which Silverheels excelled was a new sport, called box lacrosse.

Its history was documented in The New York Times as recently as 2013 (The New York Times, 8-31-2013). According to the article, the National Hockey League was looking for a way to use their arenas during hockey’s off-season.The League observed how popular lacrosse was in Canada and western New York, so they developed a new game that would be played indoors. Each team had seven men, down from 12 for the outdoor game to make the size more compatible with the limited floor space. Harold Smith, as he was known then, played for the Toronto Tecumsehs. Box lacrosse was a rough and fast game—it soon became known as the “fastest game on two feet.” When the team traveled to play a demonstration game in Los Angeles, actor and comedian Joe E. Brown (1891-1973) was in the crowd; Brown took note of the good-looking muscular player, Silverheels, as he was called by his teammates. Brown spoke to him after the game and suggested he go for a screen test. Smith/Silverheels soon began working as an extra and a stuntman in films. At that time, he was billed as Harry Smith.

During the 1940s, he remained in Hollywood, sometimes doing stunt work, sometimes working as an extra, and occasionally getting a minor role. Jay Silverheels: Break-Through Opportunity In 1947 director John Huston was casting what would become a classic film, Key Largo, and Jay Silverheels was cast as one of two Native Americans fleeing the town’s sheriff when a hurricane is approaching. The two Osceola brothers (the Native Americans) take shelter at the Key Largo Hotel, which happened to be filled with what was to become an all-star cast–Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Edward G. Robinson, and Lionel Barrymore, among others. Silverheels’ role in this movie drew the attention of the producers who were casting for the television version of the popular radio program, The Lone Ranger. Silverheels was chosen over 35 other actors who auditioned for the part. This was notable for one primary reason: Native Americans rarely obtained parts in film or television. Any “Injun” roles were usually played by white people. Italians were popular for these roles as as they were more likely to have darker skin. However, red face paint was frequently used.

Typically, a red clay called Armenian bole was mixed with water to provide a Native American look. Perfect examples of this casting include Burt Lancaster being given the starring role of a Native American athlete in the 1951 film, Jim Thorpe: All American. And as late as 1969, Raquel Welch was cast as a Crow Indian in 100 Rifles. Bias Existed All Along The bias against Native Americans ran deep. On a Lone Ranger fan page , film and television critic Kliph Nesteroff cites a book, Making the Movies (copyright 1919), by Ernest A. Dench. Dench wrote that some felt that if Native Americans were given parts in the movies that it would “change” them: “It might be thought that this would civilize them [the Native Americans] completely, but it has had quite the reverse effect, for the work affords them an opportunity to live their savage days over again, and they are not slow to take advantage of it,” wrote Dench.

“They put their heart and soul in the work, especially in battles with whites, and it is necessary to have armed guards watch over their movements for the least sign of treachery…” These words were written thirty years prior to Silverheels’ time in Hollywood, but the decades had done little to ease tensions among the races. Lone Ranger Debut After a long and very successful radio run, the television program, The Lone Ranger, was first shown on air on September 15, 1949. The Lone Ranger told the tale of a mysterious masked man and his faithful Indian companion as they fought to bring peace and justice to the Old West. The show opened each week with dramatic footage of Clayton Moore as the masked stranger riding Silver through a Western landscape. An announcer narrated over the scene: “The Lone Ranger! A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty Hi-Yo Silver! …a mysterious character of the early West who brought fear to the lawless and hope to those who wanted to make the land their own.” To see a clip of the opening, click here .

At that time, few people had televisions, however, the number of television sets in America would increase greatly over the next few years. In the process, Tonto became a household name. Silverheels’ character was little more than a cultural stereotype, with Tonto speaking broken English and always subservient to the Lone Ranger. But as the first Native actor to play a Native American on television, he broke new ground. Silverheels played Tonto for the entire run of the television series, from 1949 to 1957 (with one short period in 1955 when he suffered a heart attack and some filming shots required a double). To watch the entire first episode of The Lone Ranger, click here . He also appeared in two Lone Ranger movies, The Lone Ranger (1956), and The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold (1958). While Silverheels is best known for his portrayal of the masked man’s loyal companion, it was far from being his only role. In the 1950s, he starred as Indian chief Geronimo in three films: Broken Arrow, Battle at Apache Pass, and Walk the Proud Land.

Later he was in True Grit, The Man who Loved Cat Dancing, and The Will Rogers Story as well as more than a dozen westerns. His complete filmography is listed here . He was disappointed that he could never break out of the stereotypical roles. (Later he did television commercials, and this 1970 one for the Chevy Blazer probably pleased him greatly because in one minute the commercial sums up how he surely felt about many things.) Did Silverheels Use his Position Well? While some accused Silverheels of docilely accepting his plight and not fighting for the rights of Native people, Jay Silverheels was balancing between wanting to work while still advocating for Natives to be cast in parts other than savages. Silverheels had witnessed what happened when African-Americans protested their on-screen stereotyping and casting. The result was that blacks were simply written out of more scripts. Silverheels knew there was a downside to taking too strong a stand. According to Dawn Moore, the daughter of Clayton Moore who starred as the Lone Ranger, Silverheels was comfortable standing up for himself. In a 2011 article in The Huffington Post , she shared an anecdote that her father told. The show was on location, filming in Chatsworth, California.

Moore’s costume was made of heavy wool, and Jay was in suede. The two actors shared a trailer as a dressing room, and it was beastly hot when they were working, as well as in the trailer when they were given a few moments to rest. Jay told Clayton he was going to say something to the director about working conditions. Moore observed from afar as Jay talked to the director, and when he came back, Moore could tell by Jay’s face that that the conversation had not gone well. Jay mounted his horse, Scout, and took off. Clayton followed on Silver as he was concerned about his friend. When he caught up to the spot where Jay stopped, Moore said, “Jay, this isn’t right, you shouldn’t be holding up production like this.” Jay quietly turned and said, “No, Clay What isn’t right is the way we are being treated…we need better working conditions.” Jay explained that he was going to stay there for a time to show that he was serious. Then he would return to finish shooting. The next day there were two new dressing room trailers, one for each of them.

Other Pursuits While the show continued in re-runs, and thereby paid Silverheels residuals, he eventually found that he wanted other things in his life. He wrote poetry that he sometimes performed, and he appeared on a variety of television shows, including a number of westerns. In the 1960s he formed the Indian Actors Workshop based in Echo Park to train and prepare more Native Americans for film. (It no longer exists but you can see a short slide show of it here .) In 1974 he received a license for harness racing and for a time enjoyed breeding and racing harness horses. In 1979, Jay Silverheels was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Silverheels was present when the star was dedicated, and according to coverage in The New York Times (7-21-1979), Silverheels wept. Jay Silverheels’ Riding Days Were Over Jay Silverheels suffered a stroke in 1976 and was incapacitated from it to some extent. When New Year’s Day of 1977 approached, Clayton Moore realized that times were changing. Traditionally Clayton Moore and Jay rode in the Pasadena’s Tournament of Roses Parade each New Year’s Day.

Clay, of course rode a white horse called Silver; Silverheels was always on a horse that resembled his show horse, Paint. That year, Clayton knew that Jay would not be able to ride. To commemorate his long-time friend, Clayton Moore rode a paint-colored horse that year in Silverheels’ honor. Jay Silverheels died in 1980. After his death, Silverheels was inducted into the Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1993—the first and only Native American to achieve that honor until 2013 when actor Wes Studi was accepted for the honor. Continue Reading The Lone Ranger - Frequently Asked Questions What is Tonto's horse's name? Tonto's horse is named "Scout." He's a spotted palamino or "paint." Originally, Tonto rode double with the Lone Ranger on Silver. After a publicity photo was taken of the Lone Ranger and Tonto this way, WXYZ wisely decided to give Tonto his own steed. Scout was originally supposed to be solid white like Silver, but when they made the movie serials they realized that it would make Silver less impressive that way, so Scout was changed.

Tonto's mount did have another name. He was known as "White Feller" in the early Lone Ranger novels. You can decide whether or not that counts. Who is the Lone Ranger's Nephew? What is his horse's name? The Lone Ranger's nephew was Dan Reid, Jr, however, we do not know what his true first name was. His mother was killed in an Indian attack and he was taken in by Grandma Frisbee, who raised him. She got the name Dan from a locket that his mother had worn. Dan Jr. rode the son of Silver, Victor. On television Dan Reid, Jr. was played by actor Chuck Courtney in 14 episodes. What tribe of Indians does Tonto belong to? Tonto is from the Potowatomie tribe. The Potowatomie Indians were a real tribe who originally lived in and around the state of Michigan (The Lone Ranger originated at WXYZ in Detroit.) According to Lone Ranger lore they were all wiped out except for Tonto who was found and saved by a young John Reid long before he became a Texas Ranger. Is Kemosabe a real word? What does it really mean?

Kemosabe (or any of the other various spellings) is a real word. And no, it doesn't mean "horse's butt." It is actually from the language of the Potowatomie Indians. One of the shows' producers, Jim Jewell, had a father-in-law who ran a boy's camp named "Camp Kee-mo-sah-bee." Kemosabe means "faithful friend" or "trusty scout." Isn't it true that Tonto means "fool" in Spanish? This is true, but it was not that meaning that was intended by the producers of the show. There are two versions of the story. Fran Striker told the Saturday Evening Post that he invented Tonto's name and that it was picked by merely alterring the consanants in the name Gobo. (This was a caveman character Striker had created in another radio program.) Jim Jewell says that Striker was remembering wrong. Tonto, he said, is another Potowatomie word. There were a few Indians who would come to the camp to tell stories to the children. One of the Indians apparently had a penchant for drinking after the children had gone to sleep.

Sometimes he would get rowdy and the other Indians would call him "tonto." This meant "wild one." Jewell remembered the word, liked it, and gave the name to the Lone Ranger's Indian companion. The truth is lost in the fog of time... What is the Lone Ranger's real name? This is another question that can be answered in two ways. We know that the Ranger's last name is "Reid," because his brother who was killed in the ambush by the Cavendish Gang was named Dan Reid. (This is also the name of the Lone Ranger's nephew, although we do not know what his true first name was. His mother was killed in an Indian attack and the kindly woman who raised him got the name Dan from a locket that Dan's mother had worn.) No first name was given to the Lone Ranger during the radio and television program. Somehow, though, the name "John" appeared in the liner notes of a Lone Ranger record.

(Wes Tom fills in this part: "The name John first appeared in the book Radio's Golden Age by Frank Buxton and Bill Owen in 1966 published by Easton Valley Press.") The name was used in the 1981 "Legend of the Lone Ranger" movie. Because of this, many refuse to accept that name as the Ranger's true name. This is debatable. Which characters have seen the Lone Range unmasked? After the Lone Ranger took up the mask only 3 characters on the show ever saw him unmasked- Tonto of course, his nephew Dan Reid, Jr., and Grandma Frisbee. On the radio show he revealed his true identity to Butch Cavadish, just before Butch died... Butch saying he wished he had died never knowing. But on the TV show Butch never died and the Ranger never revealed himself to Butch. I heard the there is some sort of connection between the Lone Ranger and the Green Hornet... Britt Reid is the name of the alter-ego of the Green Hornet. He is the Lone Ranger's nephew's grandson.

(Or son, depending on whether you're talking about the radio Green Hornet or the television Green Hornet.) Why was Clayton Moore removed for awhile as the Lone Ranger and replaced by John Hart? We will probably never know. The rumor at the time was that Clayton Moore had demanded a salary increase and was fired by the owner of the Ranger property, George W. Trendle. However, Moore says in his autobiography that he didn't make any such request and that it was clear that Trendle intended to replace him at least a year prior to the dismissal, since Trendle had ordered that the mask be made larger to cover more of Moore's face. Moore says he was given no reason when he was fired. Nor was he given any reason when they asked him to return. Moore speculates that Trendle disliked the fact that his property was becoming more identified with Moore than with Trendle. Moore thinks that Trendle didn't want any actor being the Lone Ranger in the public's mind (editor's note: By then it was already too late). Moore's return to the show was just before the selling of the property to the Wrather Corporation.

It's possible that Trendle realized that Hart's Ranger wasn't as popular and thought the property would be worth more with Moore back in place. Further speculation is that George W. Trendle objected to Moore doing other roles and thought that Hart resembled a young Brace Beemer (the voice of the Lone Ranger on radio). What was the Lone Ranger's mask made of? Story-wise, it was made from the fabric of the Ranger's brother's (Dan Reid) black vest. The one he was wearing when he was killed along with the other Rangers. According to Clayton Moore's autobiography, the actual masks used in the series were made from plaster with felt on the top of them. In the black and white episodes, purple felt was used! Black felt was used in the color productions. Why does the Lone Ranger use Silver Bullets? Silver bullets are the Lone Ranger's calling card. Silver is a symbol of purity. On the television show the Lone Ranger says he uses silver bullets as a symbol of justice, but more importantly, silver bullets serve to remind the Ranger of just how heavy a price firing a gun can be. A side note: The Lone Ranger's horse, Silver, was shod with silver horseshoes!

Okay, so where did he get all of this silver from to make bullets and horseshoes and stuff? The Lone Ranger had a silver mine that he and his brother, Dan, had planned on using for their retirement. A retired Texas Ranger named Jim Blaine (who knew the Ranger's secret) agreed to work it for him and make the silver bullets. The Lone Ranger and Tonto would periodically visit the old Ranger and stock up on bullets and more silver to use to buy goods. (This mine would be the basis of the fortune that built the Reid publishing empire in the Green Hornet.) What were the guidelines or rules that the Lone Ranger followed? Besides the creed of the Lone Ranger written by Fran Striker, there was also a code of behavior for the Lone Ranger and Tonto that was set forth by Trendel and Striker in the writers' guide for Lone Ranger stories. This code was strictly followed on the Lone Ranger radio show and later for the television show and subsequent movies that were made. They are as follows: The Lone Ranger never smokes, never uses profanity, and never uses intoxicating beverages. The Lone Ranger is a man who can fight great odds, yet takes time to treat a bird with a broken wing.

The Lone Ranger believes that our sacred American heritage provides that every individual has the right to worship God as he desires. Play down gambling and drinking scenes as far as possible, and keep the Lone Ranger out of saloons. When this cannot be avoided, try to make the saloon a cafe and deal with waiters and food instead of bartenders and liquor. The Lone Ranger at all times uses precise speech, without slang or dialect. His grammar must be pure. He must make proper use of "who" and "whom", "shall". and "will", "I" and "me", etc. The Lone Ranger never shoots to kill. When he has to use guns, The Lone Ranger never shoots to kill, but rather only to disarm his opponent as painlessly as possible. In addition to this code of behavior there was also a set of guidelines that each episode had to follow to ensure that the integrity of the show wasn't comprimised: The Lone Ranger is never seen without his mask or a disguise. With emphasis on logic, The Lone Ranger is never captured or held for any length of time by lawmen, avoiding his being unmasked.

Logically, too, The Lone Ranger never wins against hopeless odds; i.e., he is never seen escaping from a barrage of bullets merely by riding into the horizon. Even though The Lone Ranger offers his aid to individuals or small groups, the ultimate objective of his story is to imply that their benefit is only a by-product of a greater achievement -- the development of the West or our Country. His adversaries are usually groups whose power is such that large areas are at stake. All adversaries are American to avoid criticism from minority groups. Names of unsympathetic characters are carefully chosen, avoiding the use of two names as much as possible to avoid even further vicarious association. More often than not, a single nickname is selected. Did Clayton Moore come to believe that he really was the Lone Ranger? No, not really, but whenever he was asked to appear in character as the Lone Ranger he was careful to strictly stay in character as long as he was wearing the costume and mask. He also chose to follow the Lone Ranger's Creed and Code of Behavior in his everyday life. "Kids nowadays aren't so quick to worship heroes. The world is a lot more complicated; we don't seem to believe in absolute good and evil-white hats and black hats-anymore.

It's fashionable to think of virtue and honor and bravery as naive, outmoded emotions. Deep down, I believe that people still cling to those ideals. When I first appeared on television as the Lone Ranger, Jay Silverheels (Tonto) and I used to do a lot of public appearances. Years earlier, when George W. Trendle created the Lone Ranger for the radio, he gave his writers a code of behavior that the Lone Ranger and Tonto must live by. Jay and I were heroes to millions of kids, and to avoid disappointing them, we lived by Trendle's original rules" Clayton Moore How and when did Clayton Moore pass away? Clayton died at 9:20 a.m. PST Tuesday, December 28, 1999 in the emergency room of a Los Angeles area hospital. According to a hospital spokesman, Clayton died as the result of a heart attack. He was 85. Was Jay Silverheels a real Indian? Yes he was. Jay Silverheels, who played Tonto on the show, was a full-blooded Mohawk Indian from the Six Nations Indian Reservation in Ontario, Canada.

Jay played in the entire Lone Ranger TV series as well as the two feature length motion pictures "The Lone Ranger" and "The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold." He passed away March 5, 1980. His body was cremated and the ashes were scattered over the Six Nations Reservation where he was born 62 years earlier. Why did Clayton Moore have to give up wearing the mask of the Lone Ranger back in the 1970's? The Wrather Corporation, which owned the rights to the Lone Ranger character, was in the process of making a brand new movie called "The Legend of The Lone Ranger." In it would be a new Lone Ranger and Tonto. Apparently, the Wrather Corporation thought there would be too much confusion in the mind of the public if Clayton Moore was still out making personal appearances as The Lone Ranger and the star of the new movie, Klinton Spilsbury, was also out making personal appearances. In an effort to disassociate themselves from the past, the Wrather Corporation ordered Clayton to quit wearing the mask during public appearances. But that didn't stop Clayton. He purchased pairs of wrap-around sunglasses and wore those instead of the mask.

An outpouring of sympathy and support for Clayton followed. The movie made in the late 1970's was not a success. In fact, does anybody know where Klinton Spilsbury ended up? As Jack Wrather, owner of The Wrather Corporation, fell ill and felt his days were few, he gave permission to Clayton to wear the mask once again. Why did The Lone Ranger wear two different types of masks during the show? In some episodes he had on a small mask. In other episodes he wore a large mask. Actually, Clayton Moore as The Lone Ranger, wore more than two different masks. In the first season of the TV show, he wore a smaller mask that was a purple color. That's because it would show up different on a black and white TV set, which is all there was at the time. Later on, it's suspected that the producers wanted more flexibility with the actor who portrayed The Lone Ranger, so they had him wear a larger mask that covered more of his face. That's so another actor might be brought in and, supposedly, no one would know the difference.

Then when the show went to color episodes, another mask was worn, this one black, and smaller, as it was in the first TV episodes. Is there going to be a new Lone Ranger television series or movie? I was trying to pretend this didn't happen. Where do I start with this one... Ok, the WB network recently showed an updated Lone Ranger movie that was basically supposed to tell the story of a young Lone Ranger (this time named Luke Hartman instead of John Reid) before he became a legend in the old west. It also was to serve as a back door pilot for a possible series. This TV movie is closer to Dawson's Creek than to the Lone Ranger, featuring a karate fighting Tonto, and a Lone Ranger who lounges in steamy hot tubs with naked indian princesses. Everything about this version stands against what the Lone Ranger is and ever will be. It is fortunate that the late great Clayton Moore (The real Lone Ranger if there ever was one) wasn't around to witness this because if he weren't already dead this travesty would surely have finished him off. Thankfully, it has miserably flopped. Hopefully we will never be subjected to it again.

There is also specualtion of new cinema movie of the Lone Ranger as well and producers are talking of making Tonto a woman in this one... when does it all end. Leave the Lone Ranger alone if you aren't going to have any respect for him! Tonto | Lone Ranger Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Edit In most versions of the Lone Ranger story, Tonto is the last surviving member of a wandering band of Potawatomi Native Americans. His tribe, in some versions including a sister, is massacred when he is young boy. A white boy named John Reid finds Tonto still alive and cares for him until he heals. Before they part company, Tonto gives Reid a ring, and calls him " Kemosabe ," which means "faithful friend" or "trusty scout." Years later, Tonto is hunting when he comes upon the scene of the ambush in Bryant's Gap, finding five dead Texas Rangers and one barely alive. He recognizes the living Ranger as the boy who helped him long ago, and now cares for him. He buries the other five Rangers, but digs six graves, to make the outlaws believe all six men were killed.

When Reid decides to put on a mask and become the Lone Ranger, Tonto vows his loyalty to his friend and joins him in his pursuit of law and order. Radio Edit John Todd Actor John Todd played Tonto almost exclusively on the radio series from 1933 to 1954. He even carried the majority of the action during the transition between Rangers Earle Graser and Brace Beemer , when the Lone Ranger character was injured and could not speak above a whisper. Television Jay Silverheels brought television's Tonto to the silver screen in 1956's feature film " The Lone Ranger " and the 1958 sequel " The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold ." Michael Horse assumed the role for 1981's " The Legend of the Lone Ranger ." In this version Tonto's pidgin english was gone and we saw Tonto teach the Ranger most of his skills. Tonto even introduced the silver bullets claiming silver is more accurate than lead. Johnny Depp plays Tonto in the 2013 Lone Ranger film . In this version, Tonto is a Comanche who accidentally caused his tribe's massacre as a boy.

The tragedy changes Tonto and he adopts distinctive face-paint and a headdress with a dead crow on it as a sort of penance. Eventually he becomes the Lone Ranger's mentor and partner. The film is ambguous about whether Tonto has magical insghts and powers or is just insane, though it leans strongly to the former. Johnny Depp's makeup and costuming was inspired by Kirby Sattler's painting I am Crow. Klinton Spilsbury and Michael Horse Dynamite Entertainment The Lone Ranger (TV Series 1949–1957) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error The adventures of the masked hero and his Native American partner. Creators: The Lone Ranger and Tonto capture two renegade Indians responsible for a recent attack. Tonto points out the strange marking on their face. The Lone Ranger decides to investigate why peaceful Indians...

9.4 The Lone Ranger gets word that the town of Rock Point New Mexico is being terrorized by a strange midnight rider who has been staging hold ups all over New Mexico. The Lone Ranger decides to ... 9.3 The death of a prospector leads to the Lone Ranger inheriting half the value of a gold mine. Bandits kidnap the other person to inherit the money and attempt to imitate him. 9.2 Famous Directors: From Sundance to Prominence From Christopher Nolan to Quentin Tarantino and every Coen brother in between, many of today's most popular directors got their start at the Sundance Film Festival . Here's a list of some of the biggest names to go from Sundance to Hollywood prominence. a list of 24 titles created 18 Sep 2012 a list of 25 titles created 08 Aug 2014 a list of 46 titles created 11 months ago a list of 32 titles created 6 months ago a list of 31 titles created 4 months ago Title: The Lone Ranger (1949–1957) 8/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 nomination. See more awards » Photos The Double R Ranch featured "The King of the Cowboys" Roy, his "Smartest Horse in the Movies" Trigger, "Queen of the West" Dale, her horse Buttermilk, their dog Bullet, and even Pat's jeep, Nellybelle. Stars: Dale Evans, Roy Rogers, Trigger Frontier hero Daniel Boone conducts surveys and expeditions around Boonesborough, running into both friendly and hostile Indians, just before and during the Revolutionary War. Stars: Fess Parker, Patricia Blair, Darby Hinton Marshal Earp keeps the law, first in Kansas and later in Arizona, using his over-sized pistols and a variety of sidekicks. Most of the saga is based loosely on fact, with historical badguys... See full summary » Stars: Hugh O'Brian, Jimmy Noel, Ethan Laidlaw After the Civil War, nomadic adventurer Cheyenne Bodie roamed the west looking for fights, women and bad guys to beat up. His job changed from episode to episode.

Stars: Clint Walker, Clyde Howdy, Chuck Hicks Dressed-up dandy (derby and cane), gambler and lawman roams the West charming women and defending the unjustly accused. His primary weapon was his wit (and cane) rather than his gun. Stars: Gene Barry, Allison Hayes, Allen Jaffe A Civil War veteran with a sawed-off rifle as a holstered weapon makes a living as a bounty hunter in the Wild West of the 1870s. Stars: Steve McQueen, Wright King, Olan Soule Hopalong and his horse Topper catch bad guys with Red Connors for comic relief. Stars: William Boyd, Edgar Buchanan, Andy Clyde The Cisco Kid and his English-mangling sidekick Pancho travel the old west in the grand tradition of the Lone Ranger, righting wrongs and fighting injustice wherever they find it. Stars: Duncan Renaldo, Leo Carrillo, Troy Melton Mike Nelson is a Scuba Diver in the days when it was still very new. He works alone and the plot was always mostly carried through his voice over narrations. These gave the show a flavor of...

See full summary » Stars: Lloyd Bridges, Ken Drake, Courtney Brown Stories of the journeys of a wagon train as it leaves post-Civil War Missouri on its way to California through the plains, deserts and Rocky Mountains. The first treks were led by gruff, ... See full summary » Stars: Frank McGrath, Terry Wilson, Robert Horton Lawman is the story of Marshal Dan Troop of Laramie, Wyoming and his deputy Johnny McKay, an orphan Troop took under his wing. In the second season Lily Merrill opens The Birdcage Saloon ... See full summary » Stars: John Russell, Peter Brown, Peggie Castle Gil Favor is trail boss of a continuous cattle drive; he is assisted by Rowdy Yates. The crew runs into characters and adventures along the way. Stars: Clint Eastwood, Paul Brinegar, Steve Raines Edit Storyline The lone surviving Texas Ranger who was nursed back to health by the Indian Tonto rides with him, on Silver and Scout, throughout the West, doing good while living off a silver mine which supplies him with income and bullets.

Written by Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu> 15 September 1949 (USA) See more » Also Known As: El llanero solitario See more » Filming Locations: Did You Know? Trivia After the series ended, Clayton Moore began making public appearances as the Lone Ranger. Jack Wrather filed suit against Moore, claiming ownership of the character. In 1979 Wrather won the suit so Moore wore wraparound Foster-Grant sunglasses as a substitute for the mask. Moore later won a countersuit allowing him to resume wearing his costume. See more » Goofs Silver is described as "a fiery horse with the speed of light". According to Special Relativity, an object with mass cannot achieve the speed of light, as this would require an infinite amount of energy. See more » Quotes User Reviews From Radio To The Small Screen, Movie Serials, Feature Films, Newspaper Strips, Comic Books into being an Indestructible Icon of Our Very Being as a People, Americans!

(United States) – See all my reviews Someone once defined what is the definition of AN INTELLECTUAL as being: "A person who can listen to "The William Tell Overture" without thinking of the LONE RANGER!" In this, we heartily concur! It surely would be a tall order to accomplish this, and one that Leopold Stokowski, Arturo Toscanini or .Leonard Bernstein would all find nigh well impossible to do. And in this there is no disgrace. The Radio Series and the Television Series, along with some Movie Serials, Feature Films, Syndicated Newspaper Comic Strip and Comic Books, all did their part to make "the Masked Man of the Plains and his Faithful Indian companion, Tonto" a deeply seeded element of our collective psyche and of our literary folklore. As with most legends, it all started gradually, first with a series of Radio Plays, written for local use in Detroit over Radio Station WXYZ. The Creator was one George W. Trendle and the Principal Writer on the Series was Mr. Trendle's brother-in-law, Mr. Fran Striker.

The year was 1933 when the Ranger first rode out to " the Plains of the Early Western United States!" The Lone Ranger, Tonto and the Radio Series all successfully guided Depression Era Americans through the mid and late '30's up to and through World War II. But the Post-War Era found the country in the midst of a Super-Nova Explosion of invention and technology. There had been a new communications medium standing ready in the wings, but unable to go forth until both VE Day and VJ Day had been achieved. Once these were accomplished and the World and America was ready to settle down to both Peace and Prosperity. The "New Technology" was, of course was TELEVISION! And we would surely need something else than "Roller Derby" and "Wrestling From Marigold Arena" to fill up the broadcast hours. And while at first, the time that a TV Station had anything on, except that portrait of that Mohican Chief (Test Pattern, Schultz!) Very soon and with post haste, the Networks began tapping their existing Natural Resources, their existing programming! Virtually all would be ripe for adaptation to the TV Screen.

So, the folks over at Lone Ranger, Incorporated were very interested when Producers Jack Chertok, Harry Poppe, Sherman Harris and Jack Wrather all approached them with a deal to put The Masked Man and Tonto on the Television waves, as well as the Radio. Immediately they went to work and gave us the first season, which made use of the considerable back log of Radio Dramas, all potentially adaptable to TV dramas. They cast Clayton Moore, a fine supporting actor in many a feature film, and with about a dozen years experience. He also had done some work in Serials over at Republic Pictures' "Thrill Factory", which would be invaluable experience in doing "THE LONE RANGER". Cast as his "faithful Indian companion" and partner in bringing Justice to various parts of the Frontier, we had sheer perfection in character-supporting Actor, Jay Silverheels.** We must mention that there was that rift in about '53, when Clayton Moore walked and was replaced with John Hart. After a season or so, Mr. Moore was back in-having been missed so much! Now, Back to Our Story!! The first years of filming gave the episodes a look and a sound all of their own.

They made good use of off screen Narrator, which gave these shows a feel of authenticity and an individual, stand-out one of a kind series. The actors employed were all veterans of the movies of the late silent era thru the 1930's and 1940's. A lot of them had been just about exclusively "Cowboy Movie" players. A good example of these is the casting of Glenn Strange (Bartender Sam on "GUNSMOKE") as the vicious, murderous Gang Leader, Butch Cavandish. And it was the Cavendish Gang's massacre of the Texas Rangers that led to the origin of John Reid (thought to have been slain with the other Texas Rangers) as the "LONE RANGER". In addition to the old timers in the cast, you will find a lot of new and up and coming talent (then) in the cast. We see people like Phyllis Coates, Dwayne Hickman, Denver Pyle and others in the cast from week to week. All of this, along with an always calling for fair-play, justice and peace in a western world. The last couple of seasons brought some big changes. First was the use of Colour Filming.

That made no difference as a Colour TV Set was still a long way off for our household. The second was a new set of musical themes and queues. (Other than Rossini's Finale from "U NO Wutt!") The new music was never a big deal to us, as we preferred the "old Radio" stock stuff. With this series and two Feature Films done during this period, THE LONE RANGER (Warner Brothers, 1956) and THE LONE RANGER AND THE LOST CITY OF GOLD (United Artists, 1958), the character has been permanently and indelibly impressed in our identity as a People, we Americans! 22 of 24 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes

Question: Played by Jay Silverheels on the TV series, what is the name of The Lone Ranger's faithful companion?
Answer: Tonto